Known computers, including mobile computers, benefit from the use of wireless communication protocols, particularly with respect to peripheral devices that are used with the computer. Using a standardized wireless technology, such as Bluetooth, allows standardized communication between a computer and integrated wireless peripherals. Bluetooth is an industrial specification for wireless personal area networks (PANs) and utilizes the 2.4 GHz ISM band. Bluetooth is based on a short-range radio link, so that line-of-sight connection is not always required. Bluetooth provides a way to connect and exchange information between devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, laptops, PCs, printers, digital cameras, and video game consoles via a secure, globally unlicensed, short-range radio frequency.
Wireless communication, for example between a computer and a peripheral via a wireless communication protocol such as Bluetooth, can require that connection and pairing take place, which can be time consuming when there are numerous devices with which to pair. Thus, as used herein, wireless communication can include both connection and pairing. For security reasons, two Bluetooth-enabled devices may need to be paired before they can exchange data. The term “pairing” refers to the two devices exchanging a protected security identification number, or passkey. The term “connection” refers generally to two devices exchanging appropriate information to begin communication. In the context of Bluetooth wireless communication, connection can more specifically refer to the process of performing an inquiry to find another device or trying to connect to a known address for another device, and receiving a response from the other device that may include its name, class, and a list of services. Use of a device's services, following connection, may require pairing, which is defined above. The passkey is a unique password shared by the devices when initially paired. Most Bluetooth devices come with a default passkey. The difference between connection and pairing is that the pairing process saves the connection information (device name, passkey, and other information) so that two Bluetooth devices can connect automatically when they are within range of one another. In establishing a wireless connection between a computer and a peripheral, the devices first pair using a pass key, and thereafter can usually connect to choose services. Sometimes subsequent pairing is not necessary after the first time devices are paired and communicate, so pairing will not take place; however, pairing may need to occur if, for example, the stack is somehow reset.
Connection and pairing can be particularly cumbersome in a hospital or other business environment where there may be multiple wireless devices in close proximity. For example, in a hospital, there may be several Bluetooth-enabled devices to monitor a single patient, and one or more patients in a single room. When a user such as a doctor, nurse, or other medical personnel needs to read data from one of the wireless devices, he must perform the following steps: (1) locate all of the wireless devices in the vicinity; (2) pair with a wireless device from which he wants to read data; (3) search the services available in that wireless device; and (4) select and connect to the desired service. Vicinity, as used herein, is defined to include the range in which a wireless device, such as a Bluetooth-enabled device, can connect to the computer. The computer will locate all of the wireless devices that are close enough, or properly situated, to communicate with it. The wireless device may include, for example, medical equipment such as a stethoscope, blood pressure monitor, or glucose monitor. There are other types of wireless devices from which a user may want to read data, including a cellular phone or PDA.
If there are multiple Bluetooth-enabled devices in the vicinity of the user when he attempts to obtain data, the user has to follow the above four steps for each piece of information needed. The needed information may include, for example, the patient's name, identification number, medication types and dosages, blood pressure, pulse, glucose level, etc.